Sharpen a soft photo, without uploading it
Recover edge definition in a photo that came out slightly soft, or that went mushy after resizing, using amount, radius and threshold — or one preset. It all runs in your own browser, so the photo is never sent to a server.
- No upload — runs in your browser
- Free, no account
- JPEG, PNG, WebP, TIFF, GIF, BMP, SVG, AVIF, HEIC
- Up to 100 MB per file
How to sharpen an image
Drop your photo in
It decodes on your device. The original and the sharpened version sit one toggle apart, so you can judge the change at full size instead of guessing it.
Pick a preset, or set amount and radius
Amount is how hard the edges are pushed, radius is how wide the affected band is, and threshold decides how much contrast an edge needs before it is touched at all.
Download the sharpened image
Pixel dimensions never change. Keep the original format, or export as JPEG or PNG.
Sharpening settings for each job
Every preset below is one click in the tool. Amount runs from 0 to 200, radius is the width of the edge band in pixels, and threshold is the minimum edge contrast, from 0 to 50.
| Preset | What it is for | Settings | Use this preset |
|---|---|---|---|
How much sharpening Subtle | A photo that is already close to sharp and only needs the edges tightened. The safest starting point on a face or on skin. | Amount 40 · Radius 0.8 · Threshold 3 | |
How much sharpening Standard | The everyday setting for a photo that looks a little soft on screen but is correctly focused. | Amount 80 · Radius 1.0 · Threshold 3 | |
How much sharpening Strong | A visibly soft shot where the subject is still in focus. Check the edges at full size before you download — this is where halos start. | Amount 130 · Radius 1.2 · Threshold 4 | |
After another edit After resizing | Any image you have just scaled down. Downscaling averages pixels together and softens every edge, so a small radius restores what the resample blurred. | Amount 90 · Radius 0.6 · Threshold 2 | |
After another edit After compression | A photo that has been saved as JPEG several times. The high threshold keeps the sharpening off the flat areas where compression blocks live. | Amount 70 · Radius 1.0 · Threshold 8 | |
Product shots Product detail | A product shot where stitching, grain or a moulded edge has to read clearly in a listing thumbnail. | Amount 110 · Radius 0.8 · Threshold 3 | |
Product shots Fabric and texture | Textiles, knitwear and other broad textures, where a wider radius separates the weave instead of chasing single pixels. | Amount 85 · Radius 1.5 · Threshold 5 | |
Product shots Labels and text | Packaging, care labels and printed text that has to stay legible after the marketplace resizes your image. | Amount 120 · Radius 0.6 · Threshold 2 |
- How much sharpening
Subtle
A photo that is already close to sharp and only needs the edges tightened. The safest starting point on a face or on skin.
- Settings
- Amount 40 · Radius 0.8 · Threshold 3
- How much sharpening
Standard
The everyday setting for a photo that looks a little soft on screen but is correctly focused.
- Settings
- Amount 80 · Radius 1.0 · Threshold 3
- How much sharpening
Strong
A visibly soft shot where the subject is still in focus. Check the edges at full size before you download — this is where halos start.
- Settings
- Amount 130 · Radius 1.2 · Threshold 4
- After another edit
After resizing
Any image you have just scaled down. Downscaling averages pixels together and softens every edge, so a small radius restores what the resample blurred.
- Settings
- Amount 90 · Radius 0.6 · Threshold 2
- After another edit
After compression
A photo that has been saved as JPEG several times. The high threshold keeps the sharpening off the flat areas where compression blocks live.
- Settings
- Amount 70 · Radius 1.0 · Threshold 8
- Product shots
Product detail
A product shot where stitching, grain or a moulded edge has to read clearly in a listing thumbnail.
- Settings
- Amount 110 · Radius 0.8 · Threshold 3
- Product shots
Fabric and texture
Textiles, knitwear and other broad textures, where a wider radius separates the weave instead of chasing single pixels.
- Settings
- Amount 85 · Radius 1.5 · Threshold 5
- Product shots
Labels and text
Packaging, care labels and printed text that has to stay legible after the marketplace resizes your image.
- Settings
- Amount 120 · Radius 0.6 · Threshold 2
What amount, radius and threshold each do
Sharpening works by finding edges and exaggerating the contrast across them. The three settings control how hard, how wide and how selectively that happens — and getting the second one wrong is what produces the tell-tale glow around objects.
Soft originalSharpened Amount — how hard the edge is pushed
Amount multiplies the difference between the image and a blurred copy of it. At 0 nothing happens; at 200 every edge is pushed as far as this tool will go. It is the setting you should reach for first and the one to back off when the result looks crunchy.
Raise it until edges look defined at 100% zoom, then drop it back about 20 points.
Soft originalRadius too wide Radius — how wide the affected band is
Radius sets how far either side of an edge the contrast boost reaches. A small radius touches only the pixels at the boundary; a large one paints a wide band, which reads as a bright glow on one side and a dark rim on the other.
Keep it near 0.6–1.0 for detail and small images; only go above 1.5 for broad textures.
Smooth areaLeft untouched Threshold — what gets left alone
Threshold is the minimum contrast an edge needs before it is sharpened at all. Anything flatter than that — a white sweep, a clear sky, an out-of-focus background — is copied through untouched, so sensor noise and JPEG blocks are not amplified along with the detail you wanted.
Raise it to 6–10 on a noisy or heavily compressed photo; leave it near 2 on a clean one.
What sharpening can and cannot do
Sharpening does not add detail and it does not fix focus. It raises the contrast across edges that are already in the file, which makes them read as crisper to the eye. If the subject was out of focus, or the camera moved during the exposure, the detail was never recorded and no amount of sharpening will invent it — all you get is a harder-edged version of the blur.
The one case where sharpening is almost always right is after a downscale. Resampling averages neighbouring pixels together, so an image that was sharp at full size comes out soft at listing size. Sharpen last, after you have set the final dimensions, and use a small radius — sharpening first and resizing afterwards throws the work away.
Sharpening amplifies whatever is already in the flat areas of the photo, and in a shot taken indoors or at a high ISO that means noise. This is what threshold is for: it draws a line below which a difference counts as texture rather than an edge, and leaves everything under it alone. If a sharpened photo looks gritty in the background rather than crisp on the subject, the threshold is too low, not the amount too high.
A flat, greyish photo often reads as soft when the real problem is tone, not edges. Sharpening a flat image makes the flatness more obvious, so it is worth settling brightness and contrast first and judging the sharpness afterwards. The two are different operations: contrast works on the whole tonal range, sharpening only on the boundaries between areas.
Formats and limits
- Input: JPEG, PNG, WebP, TIFF, GIF, BMP, SVG, AVIF, HEIC. Output: the original format, or JPEG or PNG.
- Files up to 100 MB. Very large photos still process, but each slider change takes longer.
- Animated GIFs and SVGs export as a single static frame, rendered as PNG.
- Sharpening is not reversible in a saved file. Reset adjustments takes the loaded image back to untouched, but once an over-sharpened file has been downloaded and reopened, the halos are part of the pixels.
Sharpening FAQ
Is my image uploaded to a server?
No. The photo is decoded and sharpened by your browser. It never leaves your device, and there is no copy to delete afterwards.
What do amount, radius and threshold actually do?
Amount is how strongly the edge contrast is boosted, from 0 to 200. Radius is how many pixels either side of an edge the boost reaches — small values sharpen fine detail, large values paint a wide band that reads as a glow. Threshold is the minimum contrast an edge needs before it is touched at all, which keeps smooth areas like a white background or a clear sky free of amplified noise.
Can this fix a blurry photo?
Only a slightly soft one. Sharpening raises the contrast across edges that are already recorded in the file; it cannot recover detail the camera never captured. A photo that is out of focus, or blurred by camera shake, will look harsher after sharpening but no clearer. If the subject is recognisable and just lacks bite, sharpening helps.
Should I sharpen before or after resizing?
After. Downscaling averages pixels together and softens every edge, so sharpening first and resizing afterwards throws most of the work away — and can leave halos behind at the new size. Set the final dimensions, then sharpen with a small radius. The After resizing preset is set up for exactly that.
Why is there a bright glow around objects in my image?
That is a halo, and it means the radius is too wide for the image — the contrast boost is reaching too far either side of each edge. Lower the radius first rather than the amount; on a listing-sized photo, 0.6 to 1.0 is usually right. Halos are the single most visible sign of over-sharpening and they are what makes an edited photo look edited.
What image formats are supported?
Input: JPEG, PNG, WebP, TIFF, GIF, BMP, SVG, AVIF, HEIC. The output keeps the original format when the browser can encode it. For formats without encode support (HEIC, HEIF, AVIF, BMP, TIFF, animated GIF) it falls back to PNG, and you can always pick JPEG or PNG yourself.
Does sharpening reduce image quality?
Pixel dimensions never change and a single pass costs very little. The real risk is over-doing it: halos and amplified noise are permanent once the file is saved, and they cannot be undone by sharpening less next time. Re-encoding to JPEG is lossy too, so if more editing is coming, export PNG and compress at the end.
Does this work on mobile?
Yes, on every modern mobile browser. A large photo takes longer per adjustment, because the whole image is recalculated on your device.
Next steps
- Resize ImageSet the final pixel dimensions first — sharpening belongs after the resize.
- Brightness & ContrastFix a dark or flat photo before you decide it is soft.
- White BalanceNeutralise an orange, green or blue cast so edges are easier to judge.
- Compress ImageBring the sharpened file back under a marketplace's size limit.
- Amazon Main Image CheckerCheck the finished image against Amazon's main-image rules before you list it.
- Etsy Listing Image CheckerCheck a listing photo against Etsy's requirements before you publish.
Sharpen your photo now
No account, no upload, no watermark.